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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29155347">The Case of the Flea Collared Doctor</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/InnerSpectrum/pseuds/InnerSpectrum'>InnerSpectrum</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>February 2021 Johnlock Prompt Challenge [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes &amp; Related Fandoms</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Allergies, February 2021 Johnlock Prompt Challenge</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 09:53:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,392</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29155347</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/InnerSpectrum/pseuds/InnerSpectrum</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>There something about Sherlock Holmes' new flatmate, Dr. John Watson, that is irritating the consulting detective. As Sherlock aims to figure it out, something else gets his attention...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sherlock Holmes &amp; John Watson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>February 2021 Johnlock Prompt Challenge [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138172</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>February 2021 Johnlock prompt challenge from ohlooktheresabee</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Case of the Flea Collared Doctor</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For the February 2021 Johnlock Prompt Challenge from ohlooktheresabee. Prompt: Allergies</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The first few days John Watson became his flatmate were glorious. Sherlock had never met anyone who so seamlessly fit into his life. Okay, he wasn’t perfect with his nagging that Sherlock’s experiments and their edibles cannot co-exist on the same shelf in the fridge. At least John had deduced the tray of ears for what they were and not binned them outright as Mrs. Hudson had with the first tray, so there was that. The doctor was understandably a very clean man.</p><p>It was why Sherlock was thrown off when his nose and throat became irritated around his new flatmate a few days after he moved in.</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>“What IS that?” Sherlock sniffed as he came in from a case one afternoon not quite grasping the source.</p>
  <p>“What is what?” John had asked as he passed on his way to shower.</p>
  <p>“I don’t know; I don’t like not knowing…”</p>
  <p>“I’m sure you’ll figure it out soon enough.”</p>
</blockquote><p>It wasn’t a constant thing. Mostly in the late mornings or early afternoons when John returned from job interviews or wherever it was that he went. John was gone most mornings by the time Sherlock deigned to emerge from his room, if he had not been up all night. Sherlock could smell John’s body wash and shampoo as well some afternoons. Those had never sent his olfactory senses on fire before so, that was ruled out quickly.</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>Sherlock walked in late one afternoon. John was in the kitchen making tea.</p>
  <p>“Oh hi, you’re in. Wanna cuppa?” John held up the mug he had in hand.</p>
  <p>“Yes, please.” Sherlock walked towards the kitchen when the irritation happened. The closer he stepped to John, the worse it was. “Did you step in raw sewage or something today, John? Something is rank in the kitchen and it is not one of my experiments!”</p>
  <p>“Jesus! Really?” John started to sniff himself, horrified at the thought, “I don’t think I have; I don’t smell anything. Maybe I’ve become scent blind. Let me shower. Apologies.”</p>
  <p>John quickly left the kitchen and returned freshly showered not too much later, “Better?”</p>
  <p>“I handled that badly, John. Sorry about that.” Sherlock gave an inquisitive sniff and handed John a fresh made mug of tea, “Much. Better.”</p>
  <p>“Ta! I could tell whatever you smelled made you sick to your stomach, but you didn’t have to take it out and show me.” John joked as he took the offered mug to show there were no hard feelings.</p>
  <p>“Droll.” Sherlock rolled his eyes and proceeded to explain his current experiment while he tried very hard not to think about the glimpse of the former army doctor's strong calves and thighs when the dressing gown John wore opened slightly as he sat across from him at the table.</p>
</blockquote><p>Sherlock was awake when John left at his usual time a couple of days later. A hint of the irritant was in the air. Sherlock thought nothing of it as he went into John’s room and sniffed around. Mrs. Hudson nearly caught him with his nose in John’s drawers when she brought up the fresh laundry to be put away. She gave Sherlock a gimlet eye as he rattled off on John not having returned a pen he borrowed and he ducked out of the room before she could ask why he was in there. He had been thinking the offending allergen was in whatever laundry products used; seeing Mrs. Hudson with it meant she washed their clothes in the same detergent as hers and Sherlock had no problem with the woman’s clothing freshness. Another dead end.</p><p>“Hey Sherlock, got your text. Afternoon DI Lestrade.”</p><p>Sherlock looked over as John ducked under the police tape and approached. He swiftly turned away when John stood next to him. He felt his eyes about to water. “Oh hell!”</p><p>“John.” Lestrade greeted the doctor, then looked to Sherlock and his odd behavior, “What gives with him?”</p><p>“Just got here, don’t know.”  John started to reach out to his flatmate with concern, but stopped when Sherlock recoiled. “Sherlock?”</p><p>“Do you not smell that?” Sherlock looked from John to Lestrade.</p><p>“Smell what?” Lestrade frowned as he and John began to sniff around trying to pick up anything out of the usual.</p><p>Sherlocked glared at the two men and moved away. He did not want to say what he thought when it was clear that Lestrade could not smell it.</p><p>Lestrade and John exchanged a look and shrugged.</p><p>“Oh, for God’s sake, Greg! I told you we can handle this. Why did you insist on calling him?” Anderson groaned as he exited the block of flats that held the crime scene. “Oh hello, John. Still pet sitting in East Finchl-?”</p><p>Anderson stopped when he saw Sherlock’s face. “What?”</p><p>Hand over his mouth and nose, Sherlock turned towards John and looked him over. Finding the clues, he went into deduction mode out loud; rapid-fire at first, then slowing as he reached conclusion.</p><p>“You’ve been around a cat, no, two long haired cats. Domestic obviously, but big ones. I’d say Maine Coons. Too much hair for cats simply crossing around your legs as you fed them. It’s all over you, so prolonged exposure. The cats know you. You’ve <em>played</em> with them. I never saw the tell-tale signs on you because you’ve usually showered and changed by the time I come in. Today I reached out to you before you got home. Anderson lives in the neighborhood. Saw you one afternoon at the Tube one day. Your sister lives in Coombe Hill, but Clara… Clara lives the one who lives in East Finchley and has big cats that shed. But I’m not allergic to cats. So, it’s not the cats, but something on them. Ah! They have new collars, don’t they? Flea collars!”</p><p>“Brilliant!” John gasped impressed.</p><p>“Something that irritates me, but not you lot. Something beyond your rampant idiocy that is... Figures.” Sherlock clapped his hands together once in victory of having figured it out.</p><p>“Hey!” Lestrade yelled offended.</p><p>“So <em>that’s</em> what you’ve been doing in the mornings!” Sherlock exclaimed happily, ignoring Lestrade’s outburst.</p><p>“What did you think he was doing then?” Anderson asked, then snickered at Lestrade’s <em>sotto voce</em> suggestion.</p><p>“Helping a guy put up shelves.”</p><p>Sherlock looked between the three men confused, “I don’t get it. What does John putting up shelves with some guy have to do with flea bitten felines?”</p><p>“It’s euphemism for s… nevermind…” John groaned as Lestrade and Anderson’s juvenile snickering went to full out laughter at Sherlock’s question, He  sharply brought the subject back on track, “Yes, my ex-sister-in-law is on a business trip. Normally she’d leave the cats with Harry, but…” John let the sentence hang and forged on, “She asked me to keep an eye on them since they know me. I show up in the morning, check on the fluffy little monsters. I shower because their fur gets every where and…” John frowned as something dawned on him.</p><p>Sherlock nodded, knowing he had figured it out.</p><p>“It’s been nearly two weeks! You thought it was me that stank!” he accused.</p><p>“Of course, not John! I hardly had enough evidence to posit such with certainty…” Sherlock denied it and tried to reassure his flatmate.</p><p>“You. Thought. I. Stank!” John approached him purposefully.</p><p>“John please! I’m nearly in tears here!” Sherlock backed away not wanting to admit to John he was beginning to wonder exactly that. He turned to Anderson, “Congratulations Anderson, you actually solved a case!”</p><p>“What case?” Anderson looked from a still fuming John to Sherlock.</p><p>“The case of the Flea Collared Doctor and the Allergic Consulting Idiot!” John threw his hands up in exasperation and turned away, “Apparently I need to go take the shower I put off because his Nibs here texted for me to come straight away. He’s all yours, gentlemen - afternoon.”</p><p>"I promise you any thoughts of finding that brand of flea collar and using it against me will find you much more miserable than I in the end." Sherlock warned the other two knowing at least Anderson contemplated exactly that. He finally lowered his hand as the allergen dissipated.</p><p>Still, as he watched John stalk away Sherlock knew it was not the flea collar, but the thoughts of a damp, dressing gown clad former army doctor that was giving him trouble breathing now.</p>
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